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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 2015)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2015 Bridges: Quakes are a threat to many of the older bridges Readying for the big one Continued from Page 1A RUQHFHVVDULO\VWUXFWXUDOO\GH¿- cient, but also not meeting cur- rent design standards for their WUDI¿FYROXPH The report on Oregon’s bridges, issued earlier this month, was based on Fed- eral Highway Administra- WLRQ GDWD 7UDQVSRUWDWLRQ IRU $PHULFDKDGKRSHGWKH¿QG- LQJVZRXOGLQÀXHQFH2UHJRQ WR PDNH D ODUJHU LQYHVWPHQW LQWUDQVSRUWDWLRQ%XWWKH2U- HJRQ /HJLVODWXUH DQG *RY .DWH %URZQ KDYH IDLOHG WR reach agreement on a new $343 million transportation SDFNDJH ³:H KDYH ELOOLRQV RI GRO- lars of need to go out and ret- UR¿WWKHVHQHHGV´VDLG7UDYLV %URXZHUDVSRNHVPDQIRUWKH Oregon Department of Trans- SRUWDWLRQ LQ 6DOHP ³:H¶UH YHU\ UDUHO\ IXQGLQJ EULGJHV to increase their capacity to FDUU\SHRSOH´ %URXZHU VDLG WR UHSODFH all 2,700 of Oregon’s bridg- es on a 100-year cycle, twice the usual lifetime recom- mended for many, the depart- PHQW ZRXOG KDYH WR UHSODFH D\HDU7KHVWDWHFXUUHQWO\ replaces one or two a year, he said, focusing limited re- sources on repair rather than UHSODFHPHQW 3ODQVWR¿[ %\ WKH HQG RI 2FWREHU the replacement of Asto- ULD¶V VWUXFWXUDOO\ GH¿FLHQW \HDUROG ,UYLQJ $YHQXH %ULGJH QHDU WK 6WUHHW LQ $VWRULDZLOOEHFRPSOHWH “It was getting to the point ZKHUH D ORDGHG ¿UH WUXFN FRXOGQ¶W FURVV WKH EULGJH´ said Lance Clark, a construc- tion inspector working on the project, adding many of the bolts in the bridge’s substruc- ture had rusted and were fall- LQJDSDUWGXULQJUHPRYDO 7KH QHZ ,UYLQJ $YHQXH bridge will be sturdier, Clark said, using a single span, big- ger girders and anchoring of each approach to the bridge JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian People watch from the West Broadway Bridge as a paddleboat floats down the Necanicum River. into stronger geologic forma- WLRQVRQWKHKLOOVLGH7KHIHG- HUDO JRYHUQPHQW LV IXQGLQJ SHUFHQWRIWKHPLOOLRQ SURMHFW ZLWK WKH FLW\ FRYHU- LQJSHUFHQW A three-year, $16 million rehabilitation project is re- placing and strengthening SLOLQJV DORQJ 86 +LJKZD\ 101 underneath the 91-year- ROG/HZLVDQG&ODUN%ULGJH listed in the report as func- tionally obsolete, and the \HDUROG2OG<RXQJV%D\ %ULGJH RQH RI WKH PDMRU VWUXFWXUDOO\ GH¿FLHQW EULGJHV LQWKHFRXQW\ 'DYH7UXHDSURMHFWPDQ- ager with the ODOT, said the SURMHFW LQYROYHV UHSODFLQJ some wooden pilings with steel, while wrapping oth- HUV LQ SURWHFWLYH ¿EHUJODVV jackets to protect from rot, a common issue with bridge VXEVWUXFWXUHVLQZDWHU The Lewis and Clark %ULGJHLVH[SHFWHGWREHILQ- ished by Labor Day week- end, while work should start by the end of this year on WKH2OG<RXQJV%D\%ULGJH DQG ILQLVK E\ 1RYHPEHU :LWKLQ WKH QH[W FRXSOH of weeks, True said, he and RWKHU 2'27 UHSUHVHQWDWLYHV will start scoping the bridge- work needed on the 63-year- old Highway 101 crossing RYHU (FROD &UHHN ZKLFK faces many of the same is- sues with wooden pilings H[SRVHG WR URW 5D\ %RWWHQ- berg, the managing engineer of ODOT’s bridge preser- YDWLRQ XQLW VDLG WKH VFRS- ing work will help decide if the bridge is included in the VWDWH¶V 6WDWHZLGH 7UDQVSRUWDWLRQ ,PSURYHPHQW Plan, a triennial priority list RI SURMHFWV 6HYHUDO SURM- ects in Clatsop County are OLVWHG RQ WKH SODQ from corrosion protection on 1HZ<RXQJV%D\%ULGJHDQG more painting on the Asto- ULD %ULGJH WR UHSODFHPHQW RI street ends along the Astoria 5LYHUZDONEHWZHHQ6L[WKDQG WKVWUHHWV A relic The 91-year-old West %URDGZD\ %ULGJH RYHU WKH 1HFDQLFXP 5LYHU ² RQH RI the four major structurally GH¿FLHQWFURVVLQJVLQ&ODWVRS &RXQW\ ² LV WKH ROGHVW DQG the busiest in Seaside, han- dling more than 6,000 cars a GD\RQDYHUDJH Seaside Public Works Di- rector Neal Wallace said the department has prioritized limited resources based on WKHFLW\¶VWVXQDPLHYDFXDWLRQ URXWHV “That bridge is not part of DQ\ HYDFXDWLRQ SODQ´ :DO- lace said, adding that it looks EDG EHFDXVH RI WKH GH¿FLHQ- cy rating but plays a smaller UROHLQPRYLQJWUDI¿F³,QWKH HYHQWRIDQHDUWKTXDNHZH¶YH ZULWWHQWKDWEULGJHRII´ 7KH QHDUE\ $YHQXH $ DQG)LUVW$YHQXHEULGJHVDUH HYDFXDWLRQ URXWHV :DOODFH VDLG While Seaside is interest- HG LQ UHWUR¿WWLQJ %URDGZD\ and keeping the bridge’s his- toric character, he said the city has put a lot of effort into LPSURYLQJ$YHQXH 8 EULGJH D PDMRU HYDFXDWLRQ URXWH IRU southern Seaside and more LPSRUWDQW WR PRYLQJ WUDI¿F He said a project is almost VKRYHO UHDG\ DQG LW ZRXOG cost about $4 million to re- SODFHWKHEULGJH %XW ZKLOH$VWRULD KDV UH- FHLYHG PLOOLRQV RI GROODUV WR replace street ends on the As- WRULD5LYHUZDON:DOODFHVDLG Seaside has not been able to JHW ¿QDQFLDO VXSSRUW IRU UH- SODFLQJ$YHQXH8 The Oregon Department of Transportation issued the 2UHJRQ 6HLVPLF 3OXV 5HSRUW last October, which found that most western Oregon bridges between Oregon +LJKZD\ DQG 86 +LJK- way 101 face serious damage or destruction in the wake RI D PDJQLWXGH RU JUHDWHU Cascadia Subduction Zone (DUWKTXDNH The report estimates a QHHGHG EULGJH UHSODFH- PHQWV UHWUR¿WV DQG UHKDEV DQG UHWUR¿WV ,Q addition, more than 1,100 landslides and rockfalls need WR EH PLWLJDWHG %RWWHQEHUJ added that many bridges, in- cluding the Astoria, Highway RYHU (FROD DQG %URDG- ZD\IDFHOLTXHIDFWLRQRIWKH ground beneath them during DPDMRUTXDNH While the state does not KDYH WKH PRQH\ WR VLJQL¿- cantly implement the report’s UHFRPPHQGDWLRQV %URXZHU said, the information pro- YLGHVDVWUDWHJLFSODQIRULP- SURYHPHQWV ODOT’s seismic report recommends starting an in- YHVWPHQW SDFNDJH WR EHJLQ UHWUR¿WV VLPLODU WR IXQGV Washington state and Cali- IRUQLD KDYH FUHDWHG 7KH UH- SRUW UHFRPPHQGV LPSURYLQJ LQIUDVWUXFWXUH LQ ¿YH SKDVHV starting with the most pop- ulous transit corridors han- GOLQJWKHPRVWFRPPHUFH The Transportation for America report recommends increasing federal support for transportation through the highway trust fund, pri- oritizing maintenance, tying transportation funding to SHUIRUPDQFHDQGJLYLQJORFDO communities more access to WUDQVSRUWDWLRQIXQGLQJ 7RUHDG³7KH)L[:H¶UH ,Q´7UDQVSRUWDWLRQIRU$PHU- ica’s report on Oregon’s bridges, or ODOT’s Seismic 3OXV 5HSRUW YLVLW WKH VWRU\ RQOLQH DW ZZZGDLO\DVWRULDQ com Program:(QHUJ\RI¿FLDOVGLGQRWSXEOLFL]HFKDQJH Continued from Page 1A PDNHLQYHVWPHQWSUR¿WVIURP WKH WD[ FUHGLWV QRQWD[DEOH LQ 2UHJRQ That bill died in commit- tee, but the situation apparent- ly had a chilling effect at the 'HSDUWPHQW RI 5HYHQXH 7KH DJHQF\ QHYHU PRYHG DKHDG with a project focused on en- HUJ\ WD[ FUHGLWV GHVSLWH ¿QG- LQJSUREOHPVRQWD[UHWXUQV FODLPLQJ EXVLQHVV HQHUJ\ WD[ credits that were audited for RWKHUUHDVRQVVLQFH-XO\ /D[RYHUVLJKW Around the same time, the 2UHJRQ'HSDUWPHQWRI(QHUJ\ DOVR VFDOHG EDFN LWV RYHUVLJKW RI WKH WD[ FUHGLW VDOHV 7KH GHSDUWPHQW TXLHWO\ VWRSSHG enforcing pricing and other rules for the sales in fall 2011, ZKLFKDOORZHGSULYDWHEURNHUV to strike deals, in which the SULFHV ZHUH QHYHU YHUL¿HG E\ WKHVWDWH 7KH 'HSDUWPHQW RI (QHU- gy has struggled to track the SULYDWH GHDOV LQFOXGLQJ YHUL- fying who was entitled to the WD[EUHDNVDQGKRZPXFKWKH\ SDLGIRUWKHP $QWKRQ\ / %XFNOH\ FKLHI ¿QDQFLDORI¿FHUIRUWKHHQHUJ\ agency, was reluctant to say WKH EX\HUV DQG VHOOHUV RI WD[ FUHGLWVKDYHUHSRUWHGDOOWKRVH transactions to the Department RI(QHUJ\ “I can’t say with any real VXUHW\WKDWWKH\DUH´%XFNOH\ VDLG ³, WKLQN WKH WUDQVDFWLRQV DUH LQ MHRSDUG\ LI WKH\ GRQ¶W The third-party buyer can’t use WKDW FHUWL¿FDWH XQOHVV LW¶V UHJ- istered with the Department of 5HYHQXHDQGWKDWFDQRQO\EH GRQHWKURXJKXV´ The department is work- ing to clean up the mess, with D UHWURDFWLYH UXOH FKDQJH WKDW ZRXOG FODULI\ DOO WKH SULYDWH deals since mid-2012 were DERYHERDUG %XVLQHVV HQHUJ\ WD[ FUHG- its issued between 2006 and 2014 could cost the state up to PLOOLRQLQWD[UHYHQXH according to the Department of (QHUJ\$PDMRULW\RIWKDWFRVW ² PLOOLRQ ² FRPHV IURPWD[FUHGLWVWKDWZHUHVROG WRLQYHVWRUV 7KHFRPSDQLHVDQGLQGLYLG- uals who bought those credits could realize a total gain of PLOOLRQ ZKLFK LV WKH GLIIHUHQFH EHWZHHQ WKH YDOXH RIWKHWD[FUHGLWVDQGWKHSULFH WD[SD\HUV SDLG WR SXUFKDVH them, according to analysis by WKH(20HGLD*URXS3DPSOLQ 0HGLD*URXS&DSLWDO%XUHDX TXHVWLRQV WKH 'HSDUWPHQW RI (QHUJ\ LV QRZ WU\LQJ WR DQ- VZHU ZLWK LWV UHWURDFWLYH UXOH FKDQJH The rule change would re- PRYH D UHTXLUHPHQW IRU WD[ credit sales to follow state price guidelines, and it would apply to sales that occurred VLQFHPLG,WZRXOGDOVR UHPRYH SULFH UHJXODWLRQV IRU WKH HQHUJ\ LQFHQWLYH SURJUDP WD[FUHGLWVZKLFKUHSODFHGWKH EXVLQHVVHQHUJ\FUHGLWV $VDXGLWRU3HJJ\(OOLVH[- DPLQHG WD[ UHWXUQV ODVW IDOO she was initially confused by SULYDWH WD[ FUHGLW VDOHV WKDW bypassed Oregon Department RI (QHUJ\ UXOHV 7D[ DXGLWRUV EHOLHYHG WKH GHSDUWPHQW KDG always set the purchase prices IRUWKHWD[FUHGLWVDVFDOOHGIRU under state rules, and that the GHSDUWPHQW YHUL¿HG WKH SD\- PHQW DPRXQWV (QHUJ\ 3UR- JUDP 'HYHORSHU -RH &ROHOOR wrote in an email to an agen- F\DGPLQLVWUDWRUODVWIDOO(OOLV had reached out to Colello, in DQ DWWHPSW WR YHULI\ VRPH RI WKHWD[FUHGLWV “It should be noted that there is a concern that (Ore- JRQ 'HSDUWPHQW RI (QHUJ\¶V credibility will suffer due to the confusion with the (busi- 5HWURDFWLYHUXOHFKDQJH QHVV HQHUJ\ WD[ FUHGLWHQHUJ\ In fact, it was a Department LQFHQWLYH SURJUDP WUDQVIHU- RI5HYHQXHDXGLWRUZKRUDLVHG HHV´ &ROHOOR ZURWH RQ 1RY MEMBER APPRECIATION SEPTEMBER 12–19, 2015 Roundtrip from Seattle starting at $899 7-DAY ALASKAN EXPLORER VIA GLACIER BAY Join us on this AAA Hosted Cruise, sailing out of Seattle’s scenic Puget Sound aboard Holland America’s classic ms Westerdam. Enjoy up to $75 shipboard credit per stateroom, an onboard social reception and other AAA surprises! CALL DEBBIE SCHINDLER AT AAA TRAVEL: 503.861.3118 135 S Highway 101, Warrenton LQDQHPDLOWR%XFN- ley, the energy agency’s chief ¿QDQFLDORI¿FHU &ROHOOR DVNHG %XFNOH\ WKH FKLHI ¿QDQFLDO RI¿FHU IRU documentation to clarify how WKH'HSDUWPHQWRI(QHUJ\KDG EHHQ KDQGOLQJ WKH WD[ FUHGLW VDOHV 2Q 1RY %XFNOH\ UH- VSRQGHG ZLWK D ¿YHSDJH LQ- ternal memorandum that de- scribed how the Department RI (QHUJ\ EHJDQ WR DOORZ WKH SULYDWHWD[FUHGLWVDOHVLQ %XFNOH\ GLG QRW SURYLGH GH- tails of why the agency decid- ed to make the change, but he noted that there was pressure from the owner of at least one energy project who wanted WR LQGHSHQGHQWO\ VHOO WKH WD[ FUHGLWV (QHUJ\ RI¿FLDOV VRXJKW OH- JDO DGYLFH IURP WKH 2UHJRQ Department of Justice and DOWKRXJK WKH\ QHYHU REWDLQHG a written legal opinion, the takeaway for employees at the department was that the type RIWD[FUHGLWVDOHVWKH\DOORZHG ³ZDV D EXVLQHVV GHFLVLRQ´ %XFNOH\ZURWH Since then, the Department RI(QHUJ\DOORZHGWKHSULYDWH sales under a section of Ore- gon law that simply states one- WLPHWUDQVIHUVRIWD[FUHGLWVDUH DOORZHGXQOHVVH[SUHVVO\SUR- KLELWHGE\RWKHUODZV (QHUJ\ RI¿FLDOV GLG QRW SXEOLFL]HWKHFKDQJH “The management decision at the time was not to promote transfer, but it remained an RSWLRQ IRU UHFLSLHQWV´ 5DFKHO Wray, a spokeswoman for the energy agency, wrote in DQ HPDLO ³7KH UXOHV ZHUHQ¶W FKDQJHG WR UHÀHFW GHSDUWPHQW practices at the time, in part because it wasn’t seen as a pol- icy shift; it was a reaction to the challenges recipients were facing in transferring their FUHGLWV´ Lynn Frank, a former direc- WRURIWKH'HSDUWPHQWRI(QHU- gy, said the goal in controlling EXVLQHVVHQHUJ\WD[FUHGLWSULF- HVZDVWRHQVXUHWKHWD[FUHGLWV JHQHUDWHG HQRXJK UHYHQXH IRU FRQVHUYDWLRQ SURMHFWV WR SUR- YLGHDSXEOLFEHQH¿W “It’s almost like due dil- igence, to make sure an ap- propriate amount of public EHQH¿WÀRZVWKURXJK´)UDQN VDLG 7KH 'HSDUWPHQW RI (QHU- gy has not offered a detailed H[SODQDWLRQIRULWVGHFLVLRQWR stop enforcing the price con- trols, other than to point out SULYDWH VDOHV DUH DOORZHG XQ- GHUVWDWHODZDQGWKH\SURYLGH PRUHÀH[LELOLW\WREX\HUVDQG VHOOHUV 7KH'HSDUWPHQWRI(QHUJ\ plans to hold a public meeting June 30 on the process to make WKH UHWURDFWLYH UXOH FKDQJHV SHUPDQHQW W A NTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500 STO R A GE W A R $ ! th JUNE 27 Auction 9 a m at Astoria Mini Storage (next to Englund Marine & Best Western) 503-325-5027 or 541-280-2000 All pricing is per person, double occupancy, cruise only, and subject to change and availability. Air, transfers, fuel surcharges, government taxes and fees are additional. Shipboard credit is up to $37.50 per person for a maximum of $75 per stateroom. Ships’ Registry: The Netherlands. 9 units (6 large) for sale